FRANKFURT, March 5 (Reuters) – Germany’s Merck KGaA projected 2026 adjusted operating profit to slip by as much as 9.8%, hurt by currency headwinds and the loss of patent protection for a multiple sclerosis drug.
This year’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would likely be 5.5-6.0 billion euros ($6.4-$7 billion), it said in a statement on Thursday.
Analysts were expecting earnings to reach 5.9 billion euros in 2026 – towards the upper end of the group’s guidance range.
The range announced on Thursday would be down from the 6.1 billion euros it reported for 2025, meeting analysts’ expectations based on a consensus posted on Merck’s website.
MS drug Mavenclad, a key growth driver last year, was set to lose U.S. patent protection this month, it added.
When excluding foreign exchange effects, the development of adjusted EBITDA would be between –4% and 1% this year, the family-controlled group said.
($1 = 0.8624 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss, Editing by Friederike Heine)
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